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June 28, 2005
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FMC Technologies Inc. has been on a hot streak lately with three contracts announced in May and two more in June. The company recently signed a $28-million contract with Statoil ASA to supply a subsea system for Statoil’s existing Norne field project in the Norwegian Sea. The agreement is in conjunction with a new-build Norne Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) – Template K, which includes two subsea trees, a manifold, a template, and two subsea control modules. The agreement also includes retrofitting an electric subsea control module, which operates eight electric gate valves and one electric pig valve for the control of manifold functions for an existing template, also in the Norne field. FMC Technologies also has signed a technology advancement agreement with NATCO Group Inc. for development of a next generation, compact liquid/liquid separation system. The agreement will combine FMC Technologies’ compact, cyclonic separation technology with NATCO’s electrostatic coalescer technology to develop a new compact separation system for subsea and surface processing applications. The initial application for the compact separation system will be in subsea separation and processing studies FMC is conducting for Petrobras. The studies involve the exploration of different subsea separation concepts and construction of a prototype separator for Petrobras’ requirements. A lot of progess in a short time for FMC, but they aren't alone. In this issue of the Subsea Report, we focus on subsea contracts and equipment. Among the many players featured, we report on activities by FMC Kongsberg Subsea, Doris Engineering, Stolt Offshore, Vetco Aibel, Petrobras, BP, and many others. Read below for more details of the exciting developments in the subsea world. Eldon Ball Editor in Chief :: GLOBAL UPDATE
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Subsea Tiebacks Conference & Exhibition draws attention
The Subsea Tieback Conference & Exhibition, presented annually by PennWell Corp., has been scheduled for Feb. 28 - March 2 at the Galveston Island Convention Center, Galveston, Texas. The theme for this year's conference is "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." The Subsea Tieback Conference and Exhibition, organized by PennWell, delivers a unique gathering of the world's leading executives, managers, and engineers from major and independent E&P companies. This year's conference will discuss the methods and technology employed by some of the industryїs most successful players in the field. Conference attendees include field supervisors and operations planning personnel, as well as engineering staff and management. The exhibits showcase technology to support further improvement in operating efficiency of subsea operations. The event facilitates dialog among daily and strategic decision makers through focused presentations, extended Q&A sessions, and networking. The conference addresses new operational issues, challenges, and solutions associated with the expanding global deepwater subsea operations. The exchange of knowledge represents experiences, applications, and current, real-world project examples. For more information, visit the website at http://stf06.events.pennnet.com/.
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HRT suitable for deepwater, ultra-deepwater
The oil and gas industry is always looking for better production options for deepwater and ultra-deepwater, according to Stéphane Luteyn, project engineer at Doris Engineering. Luteyn presented a new hybrid riser tower (HRT) concept at the Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering conference in Halkidiki, Greece. Doris based design parameters for its HRT on conditions in GoM deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas (Green Canyon and Garden Banks areas) and in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa (Girassol field).
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Petrobras makes deepwater pipeline inspection strides
Inspecting pipelines installed in deepwater poses challenges for current technologies, according to Cesar del Vecchio of Petrobras. Del Vecchio discussed the progress the operator is making toward more thorough pipeline inspection at the Ocean Mechanics and Arctic Engineering conference in Greece. Petrobras carries out engineering critical assessment for all of its pipelines, del Vecchio said. The company evaluates pipelines upon installation for internal and external corrosion, stress corrosion, fatigue, external impacts, and thermal buckling, he said.
:: SPECIAL REPORTS
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Subsea HIPPS offers high-pressure field development option
A major challenge in developing a deepwater project is recovering reserves at a reasonable capex investment for flowline and riser installation. A high-integrity pressure protection system (HIPPS) is a step toward improving recoverability. HIPPS provides a pressure break between subsea systems that are rated to full shut-in pressure and the flowline and riser, rated to a lower pressure.
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Ultra-deepwater riser choice requires careful analysis
One of the main challenges associated with deepwater field development is the riser system, which transports the production fluids from the seabed to the floating production facilities. Initially, the flexible risers used on shallow-water fields were employed in deepwater field developments. As production heads to water depths in excess of 1,000 m, however, a small number of riser concepts can meet the extreme challenges. The two main riser solutions for deepwater fields are hybrid riser towers (HRT) and steel catenary risers (SCR).
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Camisea export system proves feasibility of subsea LPG
Gas from Peru’s Camisea project is traveling across the Andes to a fractionation plant on the coast at Pisco. Since summer 2004, liquid petroleum gas processed at the plant flows through subsea pipelines directly to tankers berthed 3 km offshore. The project partners chose the subsea pipeline option over a conventional loading jetty to minimize disruption to local fishing, the environment, and tourism, and to reduce the overall project cost.
:: TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
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Welding preparations pay off for Forties pipeline hot tap
Last August, Stolt Offshore completed the largest subsea welded hot tap to date in the UK sector of the North Sea, following a carefully planned series of operational trials. Stolt designed the 18-in. hot tap to facilitate oil export from the Nexen-operated Buzzard field, currently under development, into the 36-in. BP owned and operated Forties Pipeline System (FPS).
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Polyester mooring system makes debut with truss spar
BP’s Mad Dog is the first truss spar to use a polyester mooring system. It is also the first to receive regulatory approval for use in the Gulf of Mexico from the US Coast Guard and the Minerals Management Service and the first permanent polyester mooring system to be installed in the GoM.
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FMC to supply subsea systems
FMC Technologies Inc. has received three significant contracts to supply sub-sea equipment and systems for separate field development projects. First, Petrobras has chosen FMC Technologies Inc. to supply subsea equipment for projects in the Golfinho and Piranema fields offshore Brazil. The total value of the contracts to FMC is approximately $30 million. :: EQUIPMENT & ENGINEERING
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JDR Cable Systems and Subsea 7 offer hydraulic flying lead
JDR Cable Systems in partnership with Subsea 7 has developed what it says is the first hydraulic flying lead that offers the flexibility of a thermoplastic umbilical with the leak-tight reliability of a steel tube umbilical.
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Damping moves into the design phase
It is difficult to estimate the inherent level of damping in structures, piping, and subsea equipment, but improving damping characteristics can extend performance life, according to Jan Wigaard of Vetco Aibel. "Structural damping seems to be the forgotten design factor," he said.
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DeepStar invests in VIV research
Risers in deepwater and ultra-deepwater are often subject to vortex induced vibration (VIV), which can dramatically increase riser fatigue. VIV mitigation devices, such as strakes and fairings, are costly and have important design configuration and operational impacts. Undoubtedly, alternatives to standard practice would benefit the industry as production moves further offshore. :: TRENDS & STATISTICS
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DeepStar drives deepwater technology forward
Judy Maksoud, International Editor Deepwater remains a frontier for the oil and gas industry. That frontier brings with it the commercial and technical challenges of moving hydrocarbons into production in an exacting environment. The deepwater areas of the world contain significant reserves and remain one of the best exploration and development opportunities for oil companies, but reaching those reserves and bringing them into production pushes the limits of current technology.
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DeepStar, MMS work toward HIPPS acceptance
High-pressure/high-temperature drilling conditions characterize the Gulf of Mexico. HP/HT challenges are particularly significant in deep wells on the shelf and in deep and ultra-deepwater. Ironically, these exploration areas are also the most active segments in the GoM. :: MAPS & POSTERS :: OFFSHORE SPONSORED EVENTS
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PennWell Bookstore covers all aspects of the petroleum industry from oil and gas investment to oil exploration to offshore drilling. Written by selected industry experts, PennWell books will help you broaden your expertise in your current field, understand other related disciplines, provide quick-glance references as a topic arrives in your daily routine, and make excellent classroom, seminar, and in-house training texts. Shop our online bookstore here.
:: SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION To report distribution problems with this newsletter, send an email to: news@os-media.com Offshore invites you to forward this newsletter to colleagues or associates who might be interested in our regular news summaries. If you do not subscribe to this newsletter and would like to receive it, please click this link: http://www.omeda.com/os/ Offshore subscribers may access complete current and archived stories online at: http://offshore-mag.com For editorial concerns ONLY contact Eldon Ball at eldonb@pennwell.com |
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